Bezdonys Eldership

The name is of Slavic origin, from Russian бездонный ("bottomless"). According to linguists, the name comes from a local hydronym Bedugnaitė and the village name written in a 15th-century Latin manuscript as Besdenayta/Besdonayta.[2]

The eldership is home to Skersabaliai State Geomorphological Reserve. Most of the eldership is in Neris-Žeimena Lowland, and reaches Neris River in the west. Rolling hills and flatlands dominate the landscape. Most of the area is covered by the Lavoriškės-Nemenčinė forest. The largest river is Bezdonė.[2]

Bezdonys are known historically since the 15th century, when Polish chronicler Jan Długosz noted that in 1415, Grand Duke Jogaila hunted in forests near Bezdonys. In 1516, a manor was built there, first owned by the Jesuits, and later the Educational Commission.[2]

In the 16th century, Sigismund I the Old established the Arvydai-Bezdonys Manor and gifted it to a mint owner, and his son later gave the manor to the Jesuits. To this day, the classicist palace remains, and was privatized and restored in 2002.[2]

In 1862, a railway line running from Warsaw to Saint Petersburg was built near the village of Bezdonys and a railway station was established there, and the village started to grow. By the end of 19th century, two factories were already operating in the area.[2]

In 1937, a construction of a church in Bezdonys was completed.[2]

In 1943, a Nazi concentration camp was established in a forest in the area.[2]

The eldership was part of Nemenčinė District until 1962, when it was incorporated into Vilnius District.[2]

In 2009, the eldership was subdivided into 9 subelderships (seniūnaitijos).[2]

There are 27 villages located within the eldership, the largest of which are[2] Bezdonys, Arvydai and Ąžuolinė.

According to the 2011 census:[3]

• Lithuanian - 46.5%
• Polish - 38.9%
• Russian - 8.8%

• 
  Bezdonys Eldership administrative building in 2016
• 
  Bezdonys in 2015
• 
  Bezdonys Church of Saint Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy of the Gates of Dawn
• 
  Jonėnai
• 
  Bratoniškės
• 
  Bezdonė River
• 
  Classicist Arvydai-Bezdonys Manor